Narrow ware loom



Aug. 2, 1955 A. s. HUTCHINS NARROW WARE LOOM Filed D60. 2, 1955 INVENTOR ALLAN S. HUTCH IN S ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofifice NARROW WARE LOOM Allan S. Hutchins, Oakham, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corpo' ration of Massachusetts Application December 2, 1953, Serial No. 395,747 7 Claims. (Cl. 139-97) This invention relates toimprovements in narrow ware looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a loom of this type for weaving curved fabrics.

The tapes used for the manufacture of slide fasteners should be curved and have a bead along a selvage on the inside of the curve to which the metal parts of the fastener can be attached. When these parts are fastened to the bead they have the effect of expanding the edge of the fabric to which they are attached and this in turn tends to make the finished product straight.

In the past it has been proposed to produce the curve in the tape by drawing the warp from a tapered beam, but as such a beam unwinds the ratio between the diameters of the large and small ends of the beam changes with a resultant uneven delivery of the warp causing increasing slackness in the warp from the large end of the beam.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a conical or tapered tension roll having preferably a friction surface between a Warp supply and the weaving point the effect of which is to place some of the warp threads under more tension than others to increase their length to cause the curve desired in the fabric.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a loom wherein the warp thread for the body of the tape is supplied by several warp beams of usual form and draw the several sheets from the beams around part at least of the aforesaid tapered roll and then lead the sheets forwardly to the point of weaving. on the beams in cylindrical form so that as the beams rotate the warp thread will be delivered uniformly and there is no accumulating slackness due to rotation of the beam such as has already been mentioned with respect to tapered warp beams.

It is a further object of the invention to provide additional warp beams to supply the material for producing the bead or cord at the inner edge of the curved fabric, the yarns from these additional beams going preferably to the weaving point without being wrapped around the aforesaid tapered roll.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a guide such as a reed between the warp supply and the tapered tension roll so that the warp threads will be directed to the same part of the tapered guide roll. The reed may if desired be of the fan type so that by moving it the spacing of the warp threads can be varied before they reach the tapered roll to vary the degree of curvature in the finished fabric.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a loom having a warp source and a cloth roll and locating between them two tapered rolls, one behind and the other in front of the point of weaving so that both the warp and the cloth are simultaneously subjected to more tension on one edge than the other.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example the embodiments of the invention and in which:

threads which are delivered The warp is wound 2,714,401 Patented Aug. 2, 1955 Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a loom having the invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlargement of the lower part of Fig. 1 showing certain details omitted from the latter figure,

Fig. 3 is a front elevation looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2, showing one of the tapes,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed section on line 4--4, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on line 55, Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on line 66 Fig. 2, showing the reed for guiding the warp threads to the tapered tension roll,

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing three sheets of warp threads arranged side by side on the tapered tension roll, and

Fig. 8 shows part of to the present invention.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the loom frame 1 is provided with top and bottom shafts 2 and 3 connected in the present instance by gears 4 and 5, respectively, of such size that the bottom shaft rotates once for two rotations of the top shaft. Crank connectors 6 extend from the crank shaft to a lay 7 which swings about a rocker shaft axis 8. Thelay will be of the usual narrow ware type having a gang of shuttles arranged lengthwise of the lay and moved positively by known mechanism not shown herein. One of these shuttles is shown at 9, in Fig. 2, passing between the top and bottom warp sheds 10 and 11, respectively, of the associated fabric. The sheds areproduced by harness frames 12 two of which are shown herein, but it is to be understood that more harness frames can be used.

The forward part of the loom, at the left as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, is provided with take-up and cloth guiding means including a driven take-up roll 15 tapered as a tape or fabric made according up roll is keyed at 17 to a shaft larly by any approved form of take-up drive mechanism (not shown). The roll 15 has a groove 19 to receive a cord or bead 20 on one edge of the fabric F.

Resting on the take-up roll 15 is a pressure roll 21 carried by right and left hangers 22 and 23, respectively, shown in Fig. 3, these hangers being pivoted at 24 to a support 25 secured to the breast beam 26. The roll 21 has the same taper as has roll 15 but in the opposite direction. The roll 21 is on a short shaft 27 turning freely in the hangers 22 and 23.

Arranged above or ahead of the rolls 15 and 21 is a series of smaller rolls 30 which successively engage opposite sides of the fabric, see Figs. 2 and 3. These rolls are similar to each other and taper in the same direction as does roll 15. The uppermost roll 30 is shown in section in Fig. 5, where it will be seen that the roll rotates freely on a stud 31 having a reduced threaded shank 32 receiving a lock nut 33 by which the stud is held in fixed position on a vertical support 34 suitably supported on the breast beam. The studs are preferably parallel to the axis of roll 15 and each roll 30 has a groove 35 to receive the head 20. A cotter pin 36 or the like passes through each stud 31 to position the associated roll 30 with respect to the support 34. The rolls are in substantial vertical alignment as shown in Fig. 3 and the fabric or web passes behind alternate rolls and in front of the others on its way from the topmost roll 30 to the take-up roll 15. The path of the web, see Fig. 2, is down between the 18 which is turned regusmall rolls 30, around part of the take-up roll 15, over the 3 upper ends of springs 39 the lower ends of which are con nected to a holder 40 fixed with respect to the loom.

The rear of the loom is provided with a warp rack R including uprights supporting in the present instance three warp beams B1, B2 and B3 for each weaving space or tape. These beams are of usual construction and the warp W on them is wound in cylindrical form. Each beam is mounted on a support on the racks 45 to which is pivoted a letotf lever 51 attached to one end of a friction brake band 52 which extends around the beam and has its other end fixed as at 53 to the rack structure 45. A warp guide 54 is carried by the lever 51 and a second guide 55 is fixed with respect to the racks45. A weight 56 on the lever tends to draw the brake band tight to resist turning of the beam, but as the warp is used up the lever 51 rises and in doing so slackens the band 52 so that the beam can turn in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. l to supply additional warp. Any other suitable letoff may be used to regulate the tension of the warp threads W.

The beams B1, B2 and B3 deliver respectively sheets S1, S2 and S3 of warp threads and these sheets extend downwardly and partly around two cylindrical guide rolls 60 and 61 and thence rearwardly around part at least of a tapered tension roll 62 having preferably a friction surface 63. The several sheets pass through a guide or spacing means 65 fastened in the present instance to the rear sides of the uprights 45. The distance between the guide 65 and the tapered roll 62 is short so that the spacing determined by the guide 65 is maintained on the roll 62. Guide roll 60 may be mounted on the rack structure 45 and roll 61 on bearings 78 to be described hereinafter.

The guide 65 may be made in the form of a reed having top and bottom rails 66 and 67 between which extend reed wires 68. The rails have feet 69 slotted vertically at 70 to receive screws 71 held by the uprights 45. In some instances the wires 68 of the reed may be parallel, but in other instances it may be desirable to have them at angles to each other as suggested in Fig. 6, so that by vertically adjusting the guide means 65 the threads of the several sheets S1, S2 and S3 arranged in a combined sheet 75 can be either spread apart or drawn toward each other, as the case may be. in practical operation it has been found that if the combined sheet 75 is somewhat more than twice the width of the finished fabric satisfactory results will be obtained, but the invention is not limited to any specific ratio of widths between the combined sheet and the width of the tape. The wider the combined sheet 75 the greater the curvature of the finished fabric, other conditions remaining unchanged.

As shown in Pig. 6 each tapered roll 62 is mounted on a bushing 76 which rotates on a support rod 77 held in bearings 78 which are fixed with respect to the uprights 45. The rolls 62, one for each weaving space and shuttle, are free to rotate on the rod 77. Fig. 6 shows one of these rolls-in its entirety and part of the roll adjacent to it. Collars 79, one of which is shown in Fig. 6, are secured at 80 in adjusted position along the rod 77 to determine the longitudinal position of the tension rolls 62.

The warp for providing the bead 20 is drawn from a separate set of beams, four of the latter being shown in the present instance at B4, B5, B6 and B7. These beams are mounted for rotation on an upright structure supported by the loom frame and having a guide 86 for the warp from each of the beams B4B7. These warp threads may be of two different sizes, the small being indicated at W1 and the larger at W2, and are led down and under a front guide 87 and then rearwardly and over and forwardly from a rear guide 38. The warp from the main beams B1, B2 and B3 may also pass under the guides 87 and 88 so that the two sets of warps drawn in the one instance from beams B1-B3 and in the other from beams B4-B7 may extend forwardly to the harness frames from a common point or line transverse of the loom. The beams B t-B7 may have letoffs (not shown) similar to those for beams Bi-B3, but will be set to place the warps W1 and W2 under higher tension than that of warp W from beams Fl -B3.

As shown in Fig. 7 the three sheets S1, S2 and S3 are arranged side by side on the tapered periphery of the roll 62. The warps of each of these sheets located toward the larger or right end of the tapered roll 62 as viewed in Fig. 7 will be caused to traverse a longer path than that traversed by the warps of the sheet located toward the smaller end of the roll. The warp threads at the right hand side, Fig. 7, of each'sheet will be placed under somewhat greater tension than the warp threads at its left hand side and for this reason the threads at the right of each sheet will be crimped or deformed by the weft thread 64 less than the warp threads at the left of the sheet. 'The warp beams 3-1, B2 and B3 turn independently of each other and in respone to the demands made upon them to deliver the different amounts of warp needed to produce the curve in the fabric. The upper part of the fabric shown in Fig. 8 is somewhat longer than the lower part and requires a greater length of warp than does the lower part.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth a simple means for utilizing ordinary cylindrical warp beams to supply warp threads which pass partly at least around the tapered roll 62 and thence forwardly to the weaving point. The beams B1-l33, which may be considered to be a warp source providing the warp sheet 75, deliver their warps in the usual manner, but the tapered roll 62 places some of the warp threads under greater tension than others and therefore produces a variation in the amount of crimping of the several Warp threads so thatthe threads at the right of the sheet, Fig. 7, when incorporated into the fabric, will be more nearly straight than'will the warp threads at the left of the sheet, these latter threads being subjected to more crimping, with the result that the difference in the length of the warp threads in the fabric due to the variance in their crimping will cause the curved effect shown in Fig. 8. Also, the guide 65 when made with a fan shaped reed can be adjusted to vary the width of the composite sheet 75 before this sheet moves to the roll 62. It is to be understood that although three beams B1, B2 and B3 are shown, the invention is not limited to this number. It will also be noted that each beam B1453 has a letoff to regulate the tension of its warp threads. The series of rolls 30 successively engage opposite sides of the fabric and assist in preserving the tendency of the fabric to curve. To some extent the curve in the fabric can be determined by the letoffs for beams B1B3, the lighter the resistance offered to turning the beams the greater the curvature. All the tapered rolls except roll 21 taper in the same direction and their axes are perferably parallel. Also, the loom provides tapered rolls 15 and 62 on opposite sides of the point of weaving, the former in front of and the latter behind the cloth fell and between the fell and the warp source.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a narrow ware loom, a plurality of warp beams each supplying a sheet of warp threads, a roll freely rotatable about an axis transverse of said sheets and having a surface tapered toward said axis located intermediate the beams and the cloth and having said sheets wrapped side by side therearound, and a tapered take-up roll for the cloth drawing said sheets of warp from said beams and causing them to pass around and engage said freely rotatable roll, all of said sheets of warp being woven into the cloth and said rolls cooperating to place the warp threads which are woven into one edge of the cloth under a tension higher than the tension of the warp threads which are woven into the other edge of the cloth.

2. In a narrow ware loom, a source providing a sheet of warp threads which extend from the source to the cloth, letoif means resisting forward feed of the warp threads, a tension roll freely rotatable about an axis thereof transverse of the warp threads around which the warp threads are wrapped tapered in a given direction toward said axis, a take-up roll having an axis substantially parallel to the axis of said tension roll and having a friction surface tapered in said given direction around which the cloth is wrapped, and a series of rolls successively engaging opposite sides of the cloth ahead of the take-up roll and all tapered in said given direction.

3. The loom set forth in claim 2 wherein said source comprises a plurality of warp beams each rotatable independently of the other and the letofi means provides a letotf for each beam.

4. The loom set forth in claim 2 wherein adjustable means are provided to vary the Width of the sheet of warp threads engaging the tension roll.

5. The loom set forth in claim 4 wherein the adjustable means is a reed adjustable transversely of the sheets of warp threads and having angularly disposed reed dents between which the warp threads pass.

6. In a narrow ware loom having a source of Warp threads and a cloth roll, two rolls intermediate the source and cloth roll both tapered in the same direction transversely of the warp threads and cloth, said rolls being on opposite sides of the weaving point, one roll being intermediate the weaving point and the source and having the warp threads from the source wrapped around it, and the other roll being between the point of Weaving and the cloth roll and having the cloth wrapped around it and advancing the warp threads and cloth in the loom, the etfect of said rolls being to create a greater tension in the warp threads along one edge of the woven fabric than along the other edge thereof.

7. In a narrow ware loom having a source supplying a sheet of warp and having take-up mechanism for the cloth, a tapered roll having an axis transverse of the warp intermediate the source and cloth and around which the warp is wrapped as it passes from the source to the cloth, said roll being mounted for free rotation about said axis and having the effect of creating greater tension in the warp threads at one side of the sheet of warp threads than in the warp threads on the opposite side of the sheet, the take-up mechanism drawing the Warp from the source around and against said tapered roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,503,871 Bartholomew Aug. 5, 1924 1,772,957 Moore Aug. 12, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 87,032 Switzerland Nov. 1, 1920 455,749 France May 31, 1913 477,946 Germany Oct. 25, 1929 434,946 Great Britain Sept. 11, 1935 

